Beijing's Palace Museum has stirred discord¹ among the social media masses with its new marketing² campaign featuring whimsical portraits of Chinese emperors and other historical figures striking modern-day poses.

北京故宫博物院新的营销活动引起了社会媒体的广泛舆论。它把中国古代帝王和其它历史人物的画像设计出了当今新潮的姿势，打破传统的严肃观念，创造了古灵精怪的人物形态特色。

The once stoic³ emperors and poets now flash "V" signs, sport sunglasses or cutely cradle their smiling faces as part of the Sina Weibo campaign kicked off in November aiming to push the museum's latest line of souvenirs on its Taobao store.

曾经一本正经，不苟言笑的皇帝、诗人们，现在却摆着闪亮的“V”字剪刀手，戴着时髦的太阳镜，或者用手托起可爱的笑脸----这是都是11月在新浪微博上启动的故宫营销活动的一部分，旨在推销“故宫淘宝店”最新的纪念品系列。

Chinanews.com reports that the museum, widely known as the Forbidden City, has taken in more than 700 million yuan ($109 million) during the first half of 2015 with their new product line, boasting more than 7,000 different souvenir items such as custom jewelry⁴ priced up to 468 yuan.

中国新闻网报道称，故宫博物院，也就是众所周知的紫禁城，随着它的最新系列产品里7000多种纪念品的推出，比如高达468元一件的定制珠宝饰品，仅2015年上半年就收入了7亿多人民币（约1.09亿美金）。

Despite its commercial success, the series was met with mixed reviews on social media. Some argued that spoofing historical figures is inappropriate, calling the pictures "toxic⁵."

尽管它在商业上获得了成功，社会媒体对它的评价却褒贬不一。有些人指责戏弄历史人物是不适宜的，称这些图片是“有毒的”。

However, many applauded the designs. "These pictures are so adorable. I'm using them as my phone's wallpaper," wrote a Net user.

然而，它们还是获得了许多人的赞许。某网友表示，“这些图片太可爱了，我把它们设为了我的手机壁纸。”。

Looking to cash in on the Forbidden City's success, other museums across China are following suit. The Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, for example, sells smartphone cases and mouse pads bearing the likeness⁶ of its namesake Tang Dynasty poet (618-907).

看到故宫博物院这种营销模式取得了成功，国内一些其它的博物馆也纷纷效仿。比如，位于四川成都的杜甫草堂，销售着与唐朝著名诗人杜甫（618年-907年）同名的智能手机套和鼠标垫。